Charley Varrick
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Movie Reviews of Charley Varrick
Movie Review: decent 70s file
Summary: 3 Stars
This is actually a decent 70s film. Joe Don Baker does a good job as a mob enforcer that is menacing and heartless. I was reading the synopsis of "No Country for Old Men" and I immediately thought of this movie.Movie Review: Good start, slow middle, good end.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a great little film from a genre I love. It could have been presented in better restored condition..(is this really the origonal format ?).. but it is still a must have in my opinion.Movie Review: What the (bleep) is this?
Summary: 2 Stars
What the (bleep) is Universal doing releasing one of the best crime thrillers of the early '70's onto DVD in a full-screen print? Are they crazy? Donald Siegel is a great director who gave us "Dirty Harry", among other fine thrillers. He deserves better. Walter Matthau was one of the finest actors of all time, who had an incredible run of creative, artistic and popular success in the '70's. And "Charley Varrick" is a terrific, nail-biter of a suspense thriller, with one of Matthau's best performances as the title character bank robber, and that's saying a lot. Yet, it's all for naught, because Universal decided to dump it onto DVD with no extras and a full-screen print. It's enough to make you want to scream.
I just don't get it. Whenever the DVD sales chart comes out, widescreen copies of new releases routinely outsell fullscreen copies of the same title. There is a demand for widescreen on DVD. Besides, who isn't comfortable with the format by now? Yet just about every DVD company now is releasing more and more titles exclusively in fullscreen. This is especially galling since the same titles usually have no special features, which means there is ample room on the disc for both formats. But I guess the myopic bean counters in Hollywood just don't care. How sad it is.
Take my word for it. "Charley Varrick" is a wonderful film, one of three great deadpan crime dramas Matthau made in 1973-74. The other two, "The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three" and "The Laughing Policeman", are available in top-notch widescreen versions. My advice is to buy those other films instead and let "Charley Varrick" gather dust on the counters and in the vaults until the bean counters come to their senses.
Film: **** (out of *****) DVD: (no stars)
Movie Review: "Old" should command more respect
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with the strong emotional orientation of other reviewers of this "full-screen" disc. I don't see why this Walter Matthau movie has not been released on disc before in its original format ... It is a great story, and to release it in a fore-shortened format (AND NO CAPTIONS, EITHER) invites the criticism of stupidity. In this vein, I would like to point out that in general the market for these older movies is getting older and older, and for some of us the extra cost of a quality production is well worth it. I can assure whoever it is that makes the selections of what to produce, the younger generation is only sparsely interested to see, let alone buy, movies older than the youngster. Please attend to these older movie productions in a quality manner while you still have any market for them left.
Movie Review: Only if you like Walter Matthau
Summary: 2 Stars
I only recommend this movie to those who are fans of Walter Matthau (which I am). The script is fair at best, the directing is lackluster and corny, and Matthau's supporting actors in this movie seem distracted or half-hearted (except Joe Don Baker who couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag). If you are not familiar with Walter Matthau, there are other choices which have better writing and directing, and far better acting by the supporting cast.
The DVD itself has two major problems: 1) it's a 4:3 pan and scan; and the sound track is "noisy." The "focus" and other visual problems are not as apparent as other reviews might suggest.